End Of Your World
by Tobias Colden
Summary: "As Buffy tries to cope with her own life, it gets turned upside down. The world of Buffy begin again..this time with Faith as the prodigal Slayer."
1. Default Chapter

What if things were different? What if you had the chance to do something else with your life, be someone else, and take on another role. What if everything you once knew changed for the greater good and in the process you changed along with it? What if?  
  
The air was damp with a hint of thickness to it, bordering on fog. The streets of Sunnydale were deserted and left unattended to. The only ones who dared to be out at this time of the night were the vampire kind, along with the Slayer of course. The dark figure's pace was slow as he made his way along side of one of the many Sunnydale streets, whose names remained unknown to him. Why bother with such trivial things as names and dates when in the end, it doesn't really matter? His steps were slow with caution, but at the same time, a hint of power was apparent. His gaze shifted all around him. One minute he would be staring at the black pavement that lay under his feet, and the next it would be looking upon the vast sky and all it's glory. The stars were out tonight. Chilled hands were placed in the pocket of the black slacks he wore, what seemed like, all the time. Many different thoughts and images ran through his mind all at once, they seemed to blur together at times. It was funny, how one thought had nothing to do with the other, but put together it all made sense, like a puzzle. Funny.  
  
As he passed by one of the houses that had been brave enough to leave their light on, he smelled the scent of what he thought to be hotdogs. It gave him a distinct feeling of nostalgia for a place he used to call home. A place where you could get real New York hotdogs. He missed it from time to time. As he passed along side of a fence to one of the many Sunnydale graveyards, the reason he had come to Sunnydale in the first place made its self known. Something was going to go down in Sunnydale and it is going to change the town in itself, as well as the people who live within it. He had been sent to Sunnydale on a mission, and that mission was to find the Slayer and forewarn her of the events that were to come. Of course, this was only to prep her, being that whatever that was going to happen, was going to happen no matter what her and her group of friends do.  
  
  
  
Sunnydale - Present  
  
"C'mon, Xander, just take the shoe!"  
  
"No. I will not lower myself to being the shoe!"  
  
"But! The shoe has....laces! And...and a tongue! And...and a soul!"  
  
"I wanted to be the iron."  
  
"Fine!" Dawn threw up her hands in exasperation, handing Xander the iron-shaped piece. The two of them sat opposite each other. At their feet was a game of Monopoly set up. The loyal Scooby gave her a lopsided grin as he snatched the iron from her in exchange for the shoe.   
  
"See? The iron is ...manly. It's Iron-Man!..." There was a long pause as the young teenager stifled a giggle. Raising her eyebrow at him, he digressed. "...okay, it's a little less manly considering it is an...iron...but...beware the iron!" Dawn just responded by bursting out laughing. Xander was a great source of entertainment. It never failed.  
  
There was a very comfortable calm in the Summers' home. Buffy was in the kitchen chatting with the newly arrived Willow. Willow had painfully gotten down the stairs for the first time since her run-in with Gnarl. Dawn had fully recovered from her almost-mannequin like experience. Nancy had actually phoned Xander, apologizing for her harsh judgment when her boyfriend was skewered. So the entire household was in primarily good spirits. But we all know how long that lasts in Sunnydale.  
  
A knock at the door came suddenly, each member of the household glancing at each other. A silent decision between them, although in different rooms, was that Buffy was to get the door. The blonde rose to her feet, brushing off her pants as she headed to the door. Looking out of the peephole, Buffy's brow furrowed. She didn't see anyone. If it was a vampire, she'd slay. Xander and Dawn climbed over the couch to see out the window, which prompted Dawn to loose her balance and spaz out. Buffy opened the lock, twisting the knob slowly.   
  
As she opened the door, she let out a tiny gasp at the sight. Whistler? Since when did he knock? Since when did he ever show up at her doorstep? She hadn't seen him since..since the Angel deal. Whistler only brought bad news and cryptic foreshadowing. The other members of the house looked confused and slightly defensive at the newcomer. Buffy reassured them with a look, allowing Whistler to enter the household. Well, there went those good spirits. Watch as they fly out the window.  
  
As Buffy opened the door a crack, a broad, but pretty much fake grin appeared on his tiers. He stood there with hands held behind his back. He knew the message he came to tell to her would be hard to explain, but continued to smile as he entered through the doorframe. He took two or three steps inside, leaving enough room for Buffy to close the door and then stood his ground. His gaze passed over all the members of the household, with their confused stares placed upon him. Finally he turned to Buffy and spoke   
  
" Buffy. Nice to see you again."  
  
"I'd say likewise...but last time we met I..threatened to make your ribcage a ...hat?" Buffy gave the small man a half-smile, her green hues trying to read through him. It was nearly impossible, though. Whistler hid emotion and things of that sort pretty well. Probably his job, or whatever. The blonde offered him a seat, sitting herself opposite him. She clasped her hands over her lap, her Slayer instincts finally kicking in. "Is there something wrong? Some big demon..or something that I need to know about?"  
  
" More or less," He offered cryptically, getting a slightly agitated look from the petite Slayer. His face took on a look of compassion as he began to speak again to at least try and explain himself. "It's safe to say I'm not here for a friendly chat. Something's coming and it will change everything you know...and you can not stop it."  
  
"Well, gee, that's unnatural...and supernatural occurances never happen in Sunnydale! Remember that ol' 'you cannot stop your prophecy, you will die' thing? Well..I'm still standing." The melody to that certain Elton John song floated through her mind, but she quickly pushed it out. That was not important! Right now..it was...apocalypse first! ...Apocalypse now, actually. Okay, she'd allow herself a small joke, no matter how lame. "So what demon do I have to kill to stop it?"  
  
The smile he had been forcing upon his lips started to fade as he tried, once again, to explain himself to her properly.   
  
"You make a good point, but what you don't know if the Powers That be created that to be a false prophecy otherwise you would have gone into that battle without the couarge of knowing you were goin' to die...and you wouldda lost. He shifted a bit as he thought, this was going to be hard to explain. "There is no demon..there's nothing you can do."  
  
"So, you came all this way to tell me...nothing? Just to tell me that there's nothing I can do? Everything will change? Well, gee, thanks for that great bit of information...but, isn't there anything else I can do but sit here? Preventing an apolalypse speech is not supposed to be all...'nothing you can do, no cure'. And what exactly will change? My hair?...'Cos I've already done that..." He shifted again. The couch wasn't very comfortable. The uneasy smile remained to his face.  
  
"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you all this, but it's what the 'powers that be' have decided to do." He looked to his watch and then back up " You've got two days you find out what really happens when worlds collide....some of you might not even exist." He said the last part with more regret then he had ever felt..he liked this group...they were alright.  
  
"Listen..." The blonde Slayer was getting angrier and angrier at this guy. What right did he have to tell them that they wouldn't exist! What was he talking about? Buffy's voice lowered to an eerie calm as she spoke to him again. "I'm going to ask you one more time, and you better give me a better answer that that. What. Is. Going. To Happen."  
  
He stood to his feet and made his way to the door. He could sense her anger towards him. After a few moments he spoke "In simple terms. The end of your world. The beginning of another." With his last cryptic message he went out the door. His figure slid into the oblivion darkness, leaving very confused and angry people inside. The four of them stood around in the living room, worried glances being given to one another.  
  
"Okay..who was that?" Xander finally spoke up, looking more confused than an 8-year-old at a presidental election.  
  
"Whistler...kind of a ...apocalypse demon guy. He came around when Angel went bad..told me how to kill him." Buffy spoke in a monotone, her brow furrowed in thought.  
  
"So, we kill him?" Dawn spoke up, her tiny teenage voice coming through. She was obviously very scared...the whole...'some of you might not even exist' deal was hitting her hard. She knew it was her. She didn't belong there to begin with..so, she was going to be the only one to go.  
  
"No, he's a good guy. Cryptic and annoying, but a good guy."  
  
"So ...what do we do? Just sit here and..wait for the world to end? ...O-or begin? or..what was it doing again?" Willow sat down on the couch. A strong feeling of worry and tension was filling the room quickly. All the stress was really taking a toll on her fragile psyche. A mild migraine was beginning to form inside her brain.  
  
"Wait. We're going to wait. The world can't end...not this quickly. Things aren't quiet. They're quiet before an apocalypse comes. So whatever's coming, not even the vamps are aware of it. I guess we can look stuff up, but...we might as well wait it out. I'm sure it's just Whistler testing me or something. The Powers that Be suck."  
  
"Amen to that." 


	2. Chapter 2 Beginning

In a message dated 10/12/2002 7:58:45 PM Eastern Daylight Time, SilentxLegacy writes:  
  
  
Subj:so far so good!   
Date:10/12/2002 7:58:45 PM Eastern Daylight Time  
From:SilentxLegacy  
To:Simplistic Karma, SilentxLegacy  
  
  
  
  
It began. It was early in the morning on the third day since Whislter's surprise visit when it began to happen. Everyone in the town was sleeping, considering dawn had just approached, and the vampires were lying down for a day of rest. So again, everyone in the town was asleep. Well, except for a demon that stood at the town limits. His face was one filled with sorrow and heartbreak. The rays from the sun were brighter then usual and were encased with a fiery glow. It was time. The ground began to move slowly at first and then a full on scale of earthquakes erupted all in a line. Winds picking up, moving around the town in a counter clockwise motion. The town was practically invisible from the outskirts. Fires had begun to appear all over the town. But in all of the havoc, One thing that stood out with a fiery symbol placed right in the middle of Sunnydale or to be more to the point, The hellmouth. It was an old symbol, which looked like it belonged in with the arcane text that was notorious in dealing with time and space. As everything progressed, it seemed that the symbol grew brighter with a glow which had a green tint to it. The darkness started to envelop the surrounding towns and cities. The earthquakes, winds and fires went on for a total of ten minutes and before you know it the entire area was black…filled with darkness…and then.  
  
  
Los Angeles - 2 hours earlier.  
  
"So, tell me again why if the world's going to end, *I* have to alphabetize all the records?" Cordelia grunted as she took a heavy volume from a high shelf in the office, laying it down on the table. Her hair was swept back with a white bandana, her entire body glistening with sweat. The AI team were watching with amusement as the Seer did all the physical work.  
"The world isn't going to end, Cordelia..." The souled vampire's rung through tiredly. Angel was extremely tired of explaining the situation to the inept cheerleader. "I told you, for the *thounsandth* time, the world is not going to end. It will just be different. I checked in with it with some sources, with Lorne, and even the Powers that Be haven't told you anything. So, our lives...probably won't even be affected."  
"Which is whyyyy..." Gunn started, raising his eyebrows to Cordelia. His arm was wrapped around Fred's waist as he probed the Seer a bit. he enjoyed taunting her. It wasn't that often that she had to do the grunt work. "we're goin' out! And youuu have to stay here." Gunn allowed himself a little singsong taunting, a grin on his masculine features. His Texan girlfriend poked him in the side a bit, giving Cordelia a sympathetic glance.  
"I'd stay and help you but...Charles is making me go out. You know how we do." Fred smiled childishly at her use of ghetto-slang. Gunn tried desperately to stifle his laughter at Fred's attempt at being cool. It was endearing to him. Angel watched the exchange distantly, but was caught by a death stare glaring his way from Cordelia. He put his hands up innocently, picking up a broadsword that lay on the ground.  
"I have to go slay! See?" He held up the weaponry above his hand as his excuse for why she had to do all the work. Sighing exasperatedly, Cordelia placed her hands on her hips. A piece of dust flew onto her nose, and she twitched. After a few seconds of twitching, she violently pulled the dust and held it in her fist.  
"Fine! Fine! Leave the one with the visions all alone in the big hotel," Cordelia complained, furrowing her brow together. The gang said their good-byes and went their separate ways. The brunette went back to her grueling work. With two books in her hand, she stared at them with determination. "Okay! This can be fun! Gargoyles goes after Evil Gerbils, right? Or...well, it could be just Gerbils comma evil. But e comes after a so...gargoyles it is! See! Yes, Cordelia, this can be fun. You..could be doing things that are far less fun! Like...having a colonascapy. No...that would be far more fun." The brunette rattled mindlessly on, before switching on the tiny radio that lay on the desk. Her senses were dulled by senseless work, which is why she didn't see the small figure leaning against the doorframe to the office. Coughing politely, Whistler looked everywhere around the room but at the dishevled Seer. Jumping higher than humanly possibly, Cordelia placed a hand on the wall to keep herself.  
"God, you scared me!" Cordelia exclaimed, giving a disapproving glare to the small man. "I'm guessing you're not evil 'cos of the whole..'you-not-trying-to-kill-me' thing."  
"Good guess." His distinct Brooklyn accent wafted through the room. He took off his hat, holding it in his hands.  
"So if you're not here to rip my throat out..or...sell me to evil circus folk..then what are you here for?" Her hand lifted to wipe beads of sweat off her forehead. Cordelia had had enough training with Angel to fend off this guy if he was, in fact, out to kill her. But she doubted that. Maybe he was from the Powers that Be. That angered her a bit, but she didn't assume anything just yet. But if he was, she had a whole list of things she'd like to discuss with them. Whislter stood near the the front desk, shifting some of his weight to his left leg. His gaze was set to the stunning brunette with a look of reluctancy as he spoke.  
" If you haven't already figured it out, I was sent from the Powers that Be to forewarn you of events that are to take place." He continued to stare over at Cordelia as he prepared what he would say next.  
"Angel said nothing was coming. That there was going to be some small change or whatever, but that's it." Her hazeline orbs stared at the demon with confusion. Her brows were knit together. What was coming? And of all people, why would he tell her? A small smile appeared on Whistler's tiers at the mention of Angel's name. It had been awhile since he had last seen the souled vampire. The smile faded a bit after his next statement.  
"Angel would be wrong then. Something is coming and it will change everything...everything and there is nothing you can do about it. But...nobody's gonna' know about this change. Except you, princess." Whistler grinned at the girl, walking out of the office. He knew he'd be followed, but he took the chance that maybe he'd be able to get away with just a cryptic message. He heard footsteps behind him, signaling the negative.  
"Me? What? Why?" Three very good questions, Cordelia.  
"You're the Seer. The Powers that Be like to screw ya' around a little bit. The world is going to go back to the beginning..with a change. And the only person who's gonna know about it is you. Your challenge..is to help them save the world. But if you tell them that you know the future...those words will unravel time as we know it. Have fun." Quickly exiting the Hyperion, the demon left a very confused and frustrated brunette behind him. But he had somewhere to be. Sunnydale. He wanted to watch the world change from the pulse point of the 


	3. Chapter 3

Subj: Finally done! Go ahead and post!   
Date: 10/24/2002 5:18:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time   
From: SilentxLegacy   
To: SilentxLegacy, Simplistic Karma   
  
  
  
Pain. Death. Destruction. Love. Hate. Pain. Friends. Life. Happy. Sad. Angry. Chosen One. Demons. Vampires. Darkness. Pain. Brightness. Sacrifice. Death. Stakes. Holy water. Crosses. Souls. Death. Life.  
  
These ideas swarmed around in Faith's mind as she tossed and turned in her bed. The white fabric grated against her legs roughly, adding to the uncomfortable nature of her nightmare. Stupid prophetic Slayer dreams always turned out the same. She died. Faith was very aware of her duty as a Slayer, but the dreams were just being excessive, weren't they?   
  
Awaking with a start, the brunette nearly jumped out of her bed as her clock stereo blared from its nightstand. Well, the nightstand was really two cardboard boxes stacked against her almost-bare mattress. Faith slammed her hand down on the button, groaning as she turned to see what time it was. 6:30. Wonderful. An older woman's voice floated upstairs as Faith tried to regain full consciousness.  
  
"Faith, wake up! You'll be late for school!"   
  
After an all-time world record for the fastest shower, the Slayer dressed for school with some clothes she had unpacked the night before. Slipping on her signature jean jacket, which was designer of course (she did grow up in LA), and headed down the stairs. When she entered the kitchen, she was greeted by her family. Dawn, her bratty but adorable little sister, and Joyce, her middle-aged mother of two.  
  
The Summers' family didn't always live in the pastel-colored world of Sunnydale, however. The city of angels, Los Angeles, was what they first called home. Joyce Summers married Hank Summers in 1979. A year later, their firstborn arrived. Named Faith Christina Summers; she was a spitfire since that day forward. Always being watchful but loud, observant but reckless, animated but enigmatic. Let's just say she was dynamic, even in a sandbox. Seven years later, the youngest child, Dawn Marie was born. Hank and Joyce started fighting more often, and even as a small child Faith questioned their logic. Why stay together if all they did was fight?   
  
And after 16 years of marriage, the two split. Hank enjoyed seeing every other woman but his wife, and Joyce would have none of it. She wanted her children to have a nice, safe life...but that wasn't happening. Faith was growing up to be quite the troublemaker. But when she turned 15, it seemed to escalate dramatically. She started cutting school, came home late at night with blood and bruises all across her body. When Joyce questioned her, Faith blew her off. Faith's loud demeanor quieted. She became more distant and reckless. And the Mrs. Summers thought it was time for a change.  
  
So you can imagine when she was offered the job at the Art Gallery in Sunnydale, she was ecstatic. It was a small, suburban town. It had a great reputation and nice homes. Joyce was able to afford a nice 4-bedroom home on Revello Drive.  
  
The move was not an easy one, however. City-slicker Faith, although she had no real friends, was very sentimental about her city. Faith had grown attached to its 'survival of the fittest' attitude. Also, Hank was going to stay in LA, and Faith loved Hank. They were very similar in personality and looks. Faith's beautiful dark hair and dark eyes were both courtesy of Hank. He was tall, dark, and handsome. Faith was growing into a beautiful woman, and Joyce knew the two of them would look identical. They were quite the pair.   
  
Dangerous and reckless, but sincere and loyal. Well, Faith was loyal. Hank, however, had a commitment problem he had tried to solve by marrying Joyce. He would've left her sooner, if Faith had not been born. She was the light of his life, and he, in return, was her hero. So when they were separated, Faith was resentful to her mother. Hostile and distant; she started a downward spiral until the move to Sunnydale. She tried to think of it as a new start, but she desperately needed her father.  
  
But of course, he would move to Sweden or something with his secretary, leaving Faith behind. All this made Faith's heart colder, her personality more distant. One thing that kept Faith going was the strong bond she had made with her sister. Her sister idolized her, and Faith lived up to the idolatry. She was always there for Dawn, no matter what. So the brunette tried to make the best of a horrible, terrible, no-good, bad situation.  
  
Faith took a strong whiff of the bacon and eggs frying on one of the few pans that Joyce had already unpacked. Faith slung her backpack over her shoulder, quirking a brow at her mother.  
  
"Ready for your first day? Are you sure you don't want me to take you? I can take you, you know. You don't have to sit on the bus for your first day," Joyce started, getting a raised hand from Faith as a signal to stop rambling. Faith laughed, signaling a laugh from Dawn. Dawn wanted to be just like Faith, so she'd do anything Faith did.  
  
"It's okay, Joyce, really. I'm a big girl now. 'Can ride the bus and everything." Joyce placed her hands on her hips, giving a disapproving glare to her elder daughter.  
  
"You may be a 'big girl', but you're not big enough to call me Joyce. You can go and grow 90 feet, but I'm still 'mom' to you, young lady."  
  
"Yeah, young lady. ....ohmigosh did you hear me? I sounded just like you, mommy!" Dawn parroted, giving Faith a toothless grin. Both Dawn's front teeth her missing, making her look even more adorable, and causing her S's to whistle. Faith grabbed a Nutri-Grain bar that sat on the counter and gave a quick smile to her mother.  
  
"Sure, ma'. I'll see you guys after school." Faith turned on her heel and left the house swiftly. Closing the door behind her, Joyce scooped eggs and bacon onto Dawn's plate, nodding for her to start eating.  
  
"Thanks, ma'." Joyce sighed exasperatedly, shaking her head and returning to her vigorous unpacking.  
  
Faith waited impatiently for the school bus, glancing at her cell phone periodically for the time. At 7:00am on the dot, a bright yellow, cheery vehicle made its way to the corner. Faith's chestnut hues went wide as the large school bus screeched to a halt. Taking her skateboard out from her backpack that she had left opened, Faith placed it on the ground.  
  
Starting off on her board, the Slayer shook her head. There was no way in *hell* this rebel was gonna ride the Brady-Bunch-Mobile. It's like the goddamn Partridge family was rolling to school. Faith boarded down the blocks to school, and with her Slayer stamina and speed, she made it there before the bus. She swerved out of the way of a very uncoordinated young boy, flipping up her skateboard as she ascended the stairs of Sunnydale High. Your typical, run-of-the-mill middle-class white kid school. Kids playing hackey-sack, band geeks talking about music none of them can play, and rich white kids blabbing about how difficult it is to live in a town as perfect as Sunnydale.  
  
Xander flipped over the railing of the stairs, his eyes glued to the hottie that almost hit him dead-on. Willow quirked a brow at her eccentric friend, following his gaze to the brunette who was glancing around at the students with disgust.  
  
"Willow! Very much the person that I wanted to see! I'm having trouble with math." Xander gave Willow a sloppy grin, getting an inquisitive expression in return.  
  
"Which part?"  
  
"The math part. Please please pleeeease be my study buddy?"  
  
"What's in it for me?"  
  
"A shiiiny new nickel."  
  
"Ah, sold." At that moment, an awkward boy of their age came up to them, high-fiving Xander.  
  
"Hey Jesse, what's up?" Xander asked politely, opening the door to the school.  
  
"Have you *seen* the new girl?" Jesse asked, his hormones raging from the rumors he had heard about this girl. She was the bad-ass type. They didn't have many of those in Sunnydale. Usually just pompous football players, or kids who set fire to the lab book to protest the dissection of frogs.  
  
"Quite the hottie! What else?" Willow rolled her eyes at her two best friends, scoffing at their interest in just the new girl's looks. Alexander LaVelle Harris on her left. The loyal, puppy-dogish young boy whose clothes matched once in a blue moon. Underneath his sloppy clothes and quick-wit, lay a very insecure individual. He had lots of time to think about what he wanted to do when he got older. Or so he thought.  
  
And Jesse Michael Rocsten. A boy much like Xander, but his approach to women was much the opposite to Xander's. Jesse thought he was smooth and slick, and was slightly unperturbed by his complete lack of success. And the object of his affection? Cordelia Chase.  
  
Cordelia Chase was the epitome of everything 90% of the population hated. Beautiful, popular, and wanted. All the boys wanted her, and all the girls wanted to be her. She was followed around by the Cordettes. A group of sheep flocking around their only ticket to popularity for their own lack of tact and intelligence.  
  
Jesse approached Cordelia, his cheesy pickup line being shot down by venomous Cordelia. Willow did the combination to her locker, shaking her head at him. Willow Irene Rosenburg was the quiet, smart, Jewish girl. Striking green eyes and long red hair, the girl was waiting silently in her shell for someone to come along and make her break out. But until then she was content to stay in the shadows of high school, silently pining for her lifelong best friend Xander.  
  
Faith's watchful gaze scanned through the crowd of students of Sunnydale High School. She didn't know how she was going to survive the next 3 years. Maybe she wouldn't. And right now that was pretty much okay with her.   
  
Faith had a talent of figuring out people, and she was doing just that as she walked aimlessly through the hallways. She saw a group of jocks surrounded by wannabe groupies. Some dorks hanging out by a locker, and then there they were. The group of girls who had made Faith's freshman year of high school hell. And there she was. The girl in the center of it all, probably blabbing out fashions from Paris that were just so passe. The beautiful center of everything high school.   
  
Faith had been that. Until her calling. But this girl seemed different, much like Faith had. She seemed to have depth hidden under layers of Clairol and Maybelline. But maybe Faith was just reading too much into it. Finally she stopped in the middle of the hallway, looking around. She was officially lost. It was a small school, but they must hide the principal's office. Her lost look must've been more apparent than she had thought, because one of the dorks by the locker approached her.  
  
"Lost?" The brunette boy asked her, sticking his hands self-consciously into his pockets.  
  
"Pretty much, yeah. Small school you got, but is the principal's office in the basement or something?" The young boy forced out a very uncomfortable laugh, but he coughed to try and cover it up. Faith just smirked at his insecurity. She had a way of doing that to people.  
  
"Yeah, I've, uh, been there a couple times..." Jesse started to lie, placing one hand on the locker and another in his pocket in an attempt to look casual. "You know, the usual. Breaking and entering. ...Grand theft. Armed robbery...."   
  
"Massive violation of every fashion code known to man." A sultry and sarcastic voice rang from behind the lanky form of Jesse. Faith raised her eyebrow for what seemed like the 90th time that morning. Jesse cowered sheepishly, stepping out of the way so the two girls could get full view of each other. They seemed to size each other up with a glance, Faith absentmindedly licked her bottom lip and her gaze met Cordy's. The taller brunette reached out her slender hand, smiling with false cheer.  
  
"Cordelia Chase."  
  
"Faith."  
  
"No last name?"  
  
"Do you really need to know?" Cordelia paused, ready to retort, but instead she just smiled and withdrew her hand. Crossing her arms over her chest, she gave a 'get the hell out of here' glare to Jesse. Obediently, he skittered away to join his friends who were on their way to class.  
  
"So you're looking for the principal's office, right? We might have a small one-Starbucks town...but the school is full of things that need be avoided. Like them." Cordelia pointed vaguely in the direction of Willow and her pals, innocently going to class. "Once you learn how to spot the geeks, you learn how to avoid them." Cordelia stopped by the water fountain, looking pointedly at the timid redhead who was just staring up at Cordelia, the stream of water hitting her in the face. Standing up swiftly, she wiped the excess liquid from her mouth.  
  
"Are you done?" Cordelia asked haughtily, causing Willow to stutter and stammer her thoughts out. Cordy's eyes went to the water fountain and back up at Willow. Faith watched the exchange from partially behind Cordelia, her features twisting into compassion for the redhead dork.   
  
"O-oh." Willow stammered, her feet nervously planted to the floor. It was like stage fright but without the stage..or the audience. Well, except for Cordelia the super-bitch and the new girl.  
  
"Wow, Willow, it's good to see you've seen the softer side of Sears."  
  
"Yeah. M-my mom picked it out."  
  
"No wonder you're such a guy magnet. Are you done?" Cordelia placed her hands on her hips. Willow nodded silently, almost running to class. Faith was slightly disturbed and impressed by Cordelia's control over the school. She seemed to have everything at her fingertips, and there had to be something behind her facade of stupidity and self-consciousness. And for some reason, Faith felt oddly compelled to find out.  
  
Cordelia led her down a hallway, and pointed at the door with the words "PRINCIPAL" tattooed across them. Faith looked at Cordelia awkwardly, and smiled briefly.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"No problem. Hey, tonight, come to the Bronze."  
  
"The who?" Cordelia laughed, rolling her eyes in embarrassment.  
  
"It's the place to hang out in Sunnydale. The *only* place to hang out, actually. It's a pretty cool club, and if you wanna meet people, you oughta be there." Cordelia silently pleaded that the hopefulness in her voice wouldn't be caught by Faith. Faith nodded and shrugged, making a mental note to absolutely be there.  
  
"Sure, I'll see if I can swing by." Cordelia nodded and waved a bit to her before taking off down the hallway. Faith's brow finally ceased to quirk and she went into the principal's office. A tall, portly man in his mid-to-late 40's smiled kindly at Faith, offering a chair.  
  
"Ah, you must be Faith. I've heard a lot of things about you." Faith went to protest things she believed had been said about her. Setting fire to the gym, the fights. The principal held up his hand, smiling again at her. He slipped into his leather recliner, opening Faith's file. "I know you're file here is...colorful. But here at Sunnydale High, we believe in fresh starts. So, consider your record gone to me." To prove his word, the principal ripped up Faith's permanent record and placed the pieces in the garbage.  
  
Her chestnut eyes widened at his act, smirking a bit at the school-spirited man.   
  
"I'm principal Flutie. I run things around here at SHS. I just like to keep things nice and calm. If you obey the rules, we have no problem here. There are loads of activities and clubs to join, so look some of them up!" Getting up and going towards the door, Faith followed suit. Shaking his hand politely, Flutie opened the door for her. "Thanks for stopping by, Ms. Summers. I've got some work to do, so I hope you have a great time here."   
  
Faith left the office rather perplexed. Usually they went into long, drawn-out speeches about...school and stuff. School spirit, crap like that. But this guy was friendly and knew that Faith didn't need it.  
  
It was a good start, so far, for Faith. Maybe...just maybe she could survive high school. 


	4. Chapter 4

The bell finally sounded through the hallway of Sunnydale High. Swarms of relieved students exited the classrooms quickly. It had been a long Monday morning, and everyone was ready to leave. Faith was among those students going to their lockers as fast as they could. The Slayer spun the combination to her locker, glancing around at everyone whislt she gathered her things.  
  
It had been a pretty good day. She was invited to the dance..or whatever at the Bronze by a bunch of people throughout the day. But before she went home and report on the first day to her mother, the tired brunette had to take a trip to the library. Gathering all her new books in her backpack, Faith headed down the hallway. Sometime during the day a teacher had given her a map. The map was tiny, and was in the shape of a melted addition sign.  
  
Opening the double doors, the brunette stepped into the musty library. Furrowing her brows slightly, she felt the tingle of a sneeze coming up. The sound of her sneeze made the English librarian pop up from behind the counter. Taking off his glasses and wiping them on a white hankerchief, the Englishman smiled politely.  
  
"Bless you."  
  
"Thanks. You're the librarian, I'm taking it? What with you...being in the library and all - I..I need an Trig book. Ugly math book with numbers and letters?"  
  
Giles nodded to her, scurrying off to gather the book she requested. Faith's enhanced hearing picked up a slight noise coming from the second level of the library. Noiselessly placing her backpack on the table, she reached into it and slid out a stake. Gripping it tightly in her palm, Faith ascended the stairs to the second level. Her watchful, dark eyes scanned around the long shelves of books. A small figure walked passed her, and Faith grabbed it from behind. Slamming the figure into the wall she held a stake to its throat.  
  
"Whoa there, Faith. I don't know how friends you're going to make with that winning hello." The taller woman smirked, eyeing the stake that was being held at her throat. Faith dropped her to the ground, quirking a brow at her. Sliding her stake into her back pocket, Faith crossed her arms defensively over her chest. Biting her lower lip, she glanced at the woman. The strange woman straightened herself out, crossing her arms almost identically to Faith.  
  
"How the hell do you know who I am? 15 seconds or I stake." Faith stated simply, her deadly tone growing more serious. The woman seemed slightly bemused at her idle threat, and it was pissing Faith off greatly. Teetering, she waited for her to speak.  
  
"You're extremely pleasant. You're Faith Summers, Slayer, you're 15. Your mother's name is Joyce, your sister is Dawn, neither of them know about your...abilities. You just moved here from Los Angeles, where you almost got kicked out for ...well, do I haveta continue?"  
  
Faith stood completely dumbfounded. How? What? Who? ...Okay, okay, clear your mind. Clarity. Right. All Faith could think was she either had a really good stalker, or a really smart vampire. She went for the former.  
  
"And you know this because you're, just a guess, ...an insane stalker?" The woman laughed, walking around her and down the stairs. She followed after her, looking around for Giles. Where was the tweedy dude with the accent?!  
  
"Hardly. I'm your Watcher."  
  
"Watching is just like stalking, you know."  
  
"Not just a watcher. Your Watcher. A Slayer is born into each generation. She will fight the vampires, demons, and forces of darkness and stop the swell of their numbers. And the Watcher. Guides her on her path. Reads from the handbook."  
  
"There's a handbook?" Faith pointedly ignored the other comments. She had heard it all before from her other Watcher in LA. Blah blah blah sacred duty, blah blah. Faith knew her role in the world and was trying to fulfull it successfully. She didn't have a Watcher then, and sure as hell didn't need one now.  
  
"Yeah. Didn't you kno- ...Now..." Giles walked in on their conversation, bowing his head as he made the way around the counter to check out the book for her. Faith looked to the hazel-eyed woman, then back to the librarian. Stepping backwards, she thanked the man and walked out of the library. The man turned to the dark-haired woman with a look of puzzlement.  
  
"Think you were a little cryptic with her, Miss Calendar?"  
  
"She'll come around. It's her duty. Or, I'll have to hunt her down. And that'll be successful with her supper powers and all."  
  
"I'm fairly certain you should talk to her alone. It's her first day. I-I'm sure she's on high alert."  
  
"So, I should go stalk my own Slayer? You know, for an Englishman, you're not very quaint." Jenny smirked, playing with the hem of her shirt.  
  
Well, He really was not one for warehouses but considering the amount his followers have grew, it was the only place to go. His pace was slow as he walked along side of a railing, on a path that lead around the second floor, his chilled hand sliding upon the smooth metal. His gaze was set upon an almost mosh-pit looking crowd that completely filled the lower area of the quite large abandoned building. An amused, sort of grim smile formed upon his pale tiers as murderous thoughts accompanied by darkened images filled his head to the brim, ideas flowing forth and spilling onto the whitewash pavement that supplied his feet incased in black boots with a place to stand. He rose his left hand to his face and removed a pair of no-name sunglasses he had stole from a victim while back, right before he threw him into the pit. His emotionless orbs just slightly scanned over the massive crowd full of different age-types, skin color, and race, but all coming together to serve a greater propose, his propose. He slowly made his way over to the cages that almost completely filled the north wall. He finally stopped by a cage with what looked to be a young teenage girl, sixteen maybe. He slowly unlocked the cage and rip the girl out by her hair. As he dragged her to the railing as he had done to others, he could not help but feel attracted to her. She was very good looking. He pushed the thought away as they finally appeared near the rail. As he looked down into the crowd of brainwashed rejects, he spoke. " My followers, my friends I bring you a gift from the gods themselves to you all. They are pleased with the work you have been doing and want you to keep it up. They offer this lovely being next to myself. Remember as you feast upon her flesh and bone, and her brains. I am your leader. Your link to the gods. Obey me and live-forever. Here my children feast. With little push at all the girl was flung off the side of the railing and landed somewhere in the middle of the crowd, slowly disappearing into the bodies. He was proud of her. She took one for the team. He went into his office with that same smile placed on his tiers. 


	5. Chapter 5

The lights in the Bronze flickered and came on with a loud buzz. Many men in black worked on the strobe lights to get them flashing upon the dance floor. A loud crash of the drum cymbal was heard, but didn't make much of a difference to the workers. Strains of the guitar floated through the air as the band warmed up. It was only 2 hours before the Bronze would fill to the fire Marshall's orders, and even beyond. But nothing exciting ever happened at the Bronze.  
  
At the Chase household, things were moving smoothly as usual. The only thing out of place was Cordelia's absence from the center of attention. She seemed to be very detached to everything going on around her. Of course, her parents were too busy planning trips to different islands to worry about their daughter. As long as they gave her money and bought her clothes, Cordelia didn't complain. But that was before. Now, the tall brunette sat in her room, her head buried in her hands. Music by the 4 Non Blondes played in the background as Cordelia wallowed in her own misfortune.  
  
Substitute my gloom with happiness.  
  
Substitute my sickness with health.  
  
Substitute my enemies with real good friends.  
  
Morphine and chocolate are my substitute.  
  
Substitutes.  
  
Morphine and chocolate can bring me up.  
  
Can warm my heart whenever I want it.  
  
And every once in a while when I stop and think.  
  
Morphine and chocolate are my.  
  
Substitute, substitutes.  
  
And you can say, "Hey, we've really come a long way."  
  
And you say, "Hey, it can only be this way."  
  
You might be careful; it really hurts when it's real.  
  
You might be careful; it really hurts when it's real.  
  
You'll go down.  
  
Set the alarm clock, baby.  
  
Don't you miss the sun?  
  
I'm feeling really warm-hearted baby.  
  
Don't you know I'm feeling like someone?  
  
I'm fearing for my life again and I am.  
  
Fearing for my heart.  
  
Morphine and chocolate could never.  
  
Substitute my art.  
  
And that's real love baby.  
  
  
  
Cordelia got up, switching off the stereo before she depressed herself even further. She fell asleep the night before in LA. A 22-year old woman with a job, a pending acting career, and a whole life of do-gooding ahead of her. And when she awoke? She was a high school sophomore, getting ready for a day at school. At first she panicked, as a normal human being would if they were forced back 4 years. But her mind quickly flashed back to what that creepy little man had told her in the office. That things would go back to the way they were, but different. And on the first day, Cordelia noticed the difference. Faith. The day had almost gone the same way, just with Faith instead of Buffy.  
  
Why Faith? What did the Powers think they were doing? And to whom, exactly, were they giving a second chance? Cordelia? Faith? Buffy? They were messing up time for a reason. Maybe it was a second chance for everyone. But another problem stood in Cordelia's mist. She wasn't allowed to tell anyone about her psychic ability. Or..."time would unravel" as he put it. This heavy weight was quite the burden for a 16-year-old girl to handle, but there was no way of going ahead in time to find out why things were different. All she knew was her life was going to change drastically. Because now she acquired the knowledge of how to kill the Master and the Mayor. And that Angel would lose his soul to...ew. Oh God ew! Faith! Faith would fall in love with ANGEL and make him lose his soul! ...How sick. Evil and twisted. Or maybe, things wouldn't happen like that at all. Maybe..it would be a completely different set of events that would happen to them all. But for now? Cordelia had a dance to make an appearance at.  
  
The band started the first verse to their signature song, prompting a cheer from the crowd. The teenagers danced to the beat the drummer gave them, humming the word to their song. Cordelia sat up on the second level with the Cordettes, glancing around at the room. If she remembered correctly, a huge vampire named Luke would bust in, kill some people, and she would be saved. But everything was pretty much the same. Until she arrived.  
  
Faith's chestnut eyes scanned around the room as the bouncer stamped her hand. Smiling politely, Faith entered the dark club. Her senses were on high power, as she suspected this was the ultimate breeding ground for vampiric activity. But there were no vampires in sight as Faith sat down on a barstool. Ordering a coke, Faith watched people dance happily. With her senses being so far enhanced, she could feel herself being watched. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that cheerleader from school eyeing her. Faith looked back up at her with determination, and the girl looked quickly away. What the hell was her name? Cornelius? Delilah? ...Well, whatever it was, it was the name of the girl "stalking" her. Itching for a little action, Faith frowned in dismay as the crowd was strictly human material. Damn. Wasn't there ANY action on this mouth of hell?  
  
  
  
God. He hated working with vampires. They had this way of making people feel as if they were beneath them. He thought that was a good way to put it. Nevertheless, he had heard many things about the Slayer and figured he would need them in order to have everything go his way. For the greater good, or greater evil, if you thought about it.  
  
He slowly took a seat in a lavishly furnished chair, hidden behind one of the largest oak desk in the world. His gaze slowly laid rest upon four of the most legendary vampires ever. There was a slicked back blonde with an attitude, who answered to the name Spike. An insanely beautiful brunette by the name of Drusilla. An elegant blonde by the name of Darla. And a tall, dark and handsome man by the name of Angelus.  
  
He continued to gaze upon the four. Angelus and Darla stand in front of his desk while the other two wandered about the quite large office. After a few moments he finally spoke.  
  
"Now you'll do what I ask of you or you will find yourselves in the pit making new friends. I don't care how bad you think you are, got me?" As he awaited an answer, the first thing he heard was a high-pitched laugh that emitted from Drusilla, who now came up behind Angelus, wrapping her arms around him.  
  
"You're not going to let him to speak to us that way are you Daddy?" A dark, grim sort of smile fell upon Angelus figures as he spoke with a tone that would make the devil himself shudder, if he, in fact, existed.  
  
"No darling, not at all. Now Mr... your name would be?" With a quick answer the demon spoke.  
  
"Saibot." The smile widened a bit on Angelus tiers as he continued.  
  
"Now Mr. Saibot, I don't think you quite get what and who you're dealing with."  
  
With a smile of his own, the demon closed his eyes for a moment... and all of a sudden, Spike came screaming towards them. He ripped a knife across Darla's mid-area. The blood came flowing. Darla looked at Angelus with a frightened look plastered across her face. Angelus stood up, rushed in front of Darla, and checked it out. He turned to Saibot with a look of pure anger in his dark orbs.  
  
"I'll kill you with that." He was about to attack when the demon spoke. Spike in the corner, wondering why he had done such a thing. Drusilla looming over Darla like a virtue.  
  
"If you try anything I'll kill you all. Now if you choose to calm yourself there is a first-aid kit in the room over."  
  
With a nod from Darla, Angelus slowly agreed. The four vampires slowly left the room, Darla in Angelus' arms. It was all coming together quite nicely. He laughed as a mad man would as Angelus bandaged up Darla in the other room. Plotting against Saibot. Like everyone else. 


	6. Chapter 6

He was here. The scent of the demon lay all over the town. The scent of death. His pace was slow as he came across a sign covered in multi-colored paints. It stated "Welcome to Sunnydale." Sunnydale, huh? Yeah, he had heard of Sunnydale. Or commonly referred to as the "Home of the Hellmouth." Which would explain why he had tracked Saibot here.  
  
He continued on his unknown path through the night. Turning random corners, following...it. If you hadn't already figured it out, he was a demon hunter. He was a demon hunter for the same reason as everyone else. "It" killed his family. Well, not killed. But might as well have.  
  
Saibot did something to them that was worse than death. It turned them into mindless followers of evil. And this demon hunter wouldn't rest until he had destroyed every last bit of Saibot. A painful look came across his face as images unwrapped in memories of the past. Memories of his family. He pushed the thoughts away as he stood outside of a large building that had many kids standing in line. The line outstretched into the alley. He sensed a lot of darkness from this place. That, and lot of horny teenagers. When he finally got close enough he spotted the sign which read, "The Bronze."  
  
He slipped in easily enough, and his figure stood shadowed in darkness at the door. His dark orbs gazed out upon the tables and the bar and the hormone-driven dance floor. His pace was slow as he made his way to the bar, taking a seat to the left of the room, on an uncomfortable metal stool. Once the bar tender had left to go fix his order of a vodka on the rocks, a young girl of 18 came up to him with a grin of pure innocence. "Hey cutie," she said in a sexy tone. He returned her greeting with his own charming smile and spoke.  
  
"Well, hey there." He could tell right away that the being he spoke to at the moment was not human. Vampire.  
  
"Why don't we go outside?" With an evil grin and a nod they made their way out. A stake dropped in his hand as they continued to walk. "What's your name?" she inquired after they had gotten out of the club.  
  
He laughed a bit as the stake came up behind her. He plunged the stake into her back, and he smirked. "The name's Gabriel."  
  
-----------  
Faith pulled the stake out of the vampire, looking to the other one. He was visibly frightened, not knowing he had run into the Slayer until he saw his friend get slain. She grabbed him by the collar, and knocked him out. He had a tiny black circle with a red moon inside of it printed on the inside of his wrist. Her head tilted to the side in thought as she picked up the vampire and walked through the maze of the sewers.  
  
-----------  
  
"God, Faith, how hard did you hit him?" Jenny asked, somewhat amused at the unconscious vampire. Faith bit into a slice of greasy pizza, the grease sliding off the cheese and onto the cover of the old text she had in front of her. Her eyes widened, and she quickly wiped the book with a napkin. Smiling innocently, she spoke with food in her mouth.  
  
"I didn't fit fim fard." Jenny have her a disapproving look, and Faith swallowed the pizza in her mouth, shrugging. "He's just being a wuss. Slap 'im a bit."  
  
"I will not slap him, Faith. At least not yet," Jenny retorted with a mischievous sparkle in her eye. Faith smirked, shaking her head. She stuffed the last piece of pizza in her mouth, crumpling her paper plate. Her mind drifted to Xander and Willow, who had freaked out when she had slain some vamps in front of them. She had convinced them she was a magician...but that didn't blow over as well as she had hoped. Faith would have to talk to them today. Jenny's voice cut through her thoughts.  
  
"I'm gonna go home and get another volume. If this one wakes up, interrogate him a little bit." Faith nodded to her, rubbing unconsciously at the grease spot on the book. Just minutes after Jenny had left; the vampire awoke with a groan. Faith sat on the table across from his chair, her hands clasped on her knees.  
  
"Finally, sleeping beauty. Or, more appropriately, Sleeping Ugly," Faith mused, cocking her head to the side at the boy.  
  
"You will die. You will." He tried to break free. "You will die cause he wills it."  
  
"He who? Who is He?"  
  
"You will die cause he wills it, your blood will run forth.... because he wills it!" He laughed insanely, and Faith grabbed him by the collar.  
  
"I don't have time to play games, buddy. Tell me who you're working for."  
  
"Working, no. Serving, pleasing, yes." He looked right into Faith's eyes and there was a hidden bit of his own evil inside there. "Slayer's blood needed. Gonna die." He continued to laugh.  
  
Faith gave him a swift right hook, snarling angrily. "Who do you serve?"  
  
"Not you, Slayer."  
  
"You know, you've got a smart mouth. Tell me who you work for..." Faith slid a stake from her pocket, holding it tightly in her fist. "And I won't stake you right here."  
  
"Go ahead. If I die its 'cause He willed it. You have no power over me. I serve him."  
  
"You know, you're very lucky we need you to stay alive for information. Otherwise I would've staked your ass already."  
  
He laughed again. "He said you would. He knows all. You are going to die, Slayer. Your blood will become his and then it will begin."  
  
"What will begin?" Faith asked, lowering her stake a bit.  
  
"It."  
  
"What's 'it'?"  
  
"It."  
  
"Got that the first time, jackass. What will begin?"  
  
"Gee....I forgot."  
  
"Oh, really? Gosh, let me help you remember." Faith punched him hard, toppling his chair over. She pulled the chair back up, bringing her face down close to his. She left him briefly, coming back with what seemed like a bottle of perfume. She sprayed it on him, hearing the hiss as the holy water bounced against his skin. "Remember yet? If not, I hear burn scars are really in this season."  
  
He held a scream within, and through his teeth he spoke. "He wills it not to be spoken...He wills it."  
  
"Really? Hmm, well...*He* is not feelin' your pain right now. He'd probably just let you die. But...I'll spare you...if you tell me what you know." Faith sprayed him again, tilting her head to the side.  
  
He laughed. "No you wouldn't. Right when you got what you want you would shove that stake through my little black heart. I will tell you nothing. I. Serve. Him."  
  
"Good. For. You. All right, I promise to let you go if you tell me. And I won't say a word to anyone," Faith looked as sincere as she could, throwing the stake into the garbage on the opposite side of the room. "And if you don't...I'll bathe you in this crap." She held up the water bottle, poised to spray again.  
  
He sensed his master pulling away from him, removing the memories and plans that were in his mind. "No..no..where are you goin'? Don't leave me!" He sensed he was about to be destroyed, and with that knowledge, he spoke one word. "Saibot." And he burst into flames, and only left thin ashes in his wake.  
-------------  
The sound of clicking could be heard through the silence of the library. The brunette Slayer was typing away at the laptop, sipping a soda as she did so. Her finger tapped on the mouse a few times, a small sigh escaping her lips. God, this was so boring! Obviously this Saibot character was not hip to the Internet, because there was zero information on here.  
  
Jenny had come back and gotten the information from Faith, and went right back home to research. Faith said she would close up, but that she wanted to train a bit before leaving to patrol. Actually, Faith was doing a little vigilante research.  
  
The door creaked open, and Faith looked up curiously. Xander walked in, peering into the dimly lit library. Xander rarely visited this part of the school, unless forced. But he had found the Summers' phone number, and Faith's mother had told him she was here researching.  
  
"Xander?" Faith inquired, tilting her head. She quickly snapped the laptop closed, giving him a brief smile. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Well, sometimes at night I like to come to the library to..I don't even come here enough to make a good excuse. ...Your mom said you would be here. Last night...was no magic. Making a rabbit appear from a hat...or having an obsession with white tigers is magic. But making people poof? With a ...really big pencil?"  
  
"It's a stake."  
  
"Right. And...everybody carries one of those," Xander quipped sarcastically, walking farther into the room. He sat opposite Faith, looking slightly nervous.  
  
"Look, I really can't get you involved. You just have to forget what you saw. It was an illusion. A light trick."  
  
"This isn't Scooby-Doo, Faith. You didn't pull off his mask and tell me he's Mr. Smithers from the Wow Toy Factory. You put a stake. In his heart. And poofed him." Xander looked indignant. Although he wasn't too bright, the supernatural was his specialty.  
  
"Vampires *are* real. So are demons, and all that crazy shit that you thought was hiding under your bed. It's all living and breathing. Well, actually it's not doing either..." Faith trailed off. Xander nodded in understanding, still a bit bewildered that...well, supernatural things were real.  
  
"So...what were you looking at? Anything...restricted?" Xander gave her a mischievous grin, wiggling his eyebrows.  
  
"You...could say that..." Faith drawled in her most sultry tone, causing Xander to quickly rise lunge over the table and open up the laptop. He turned the screen around to find a page of search results.  
  
"I feel mocked." Faith laughed, clicking one of the links.  
  
"I'm searching the database but I can't get into the coroner's files because it's locked."  
  
"Ooh, computer stuff. Will's really good at this."  
  
"Wills?"  
  
"Willow. Small, shy redhead? Anyway, she's really good at the computer stuff. If you want, I'll tell her to come by tomorrow. And, um, I'll explain the vampire thing."  
  
"Um, thanks. Tell her to swing by around...7," Faith said, getting up from the table. Xander followed suit, and the two of them left the library.  
----------------  
"Are you kidding me?"  
  
"No, Miss Chase. Faith will tutor you until your grades come up. You will not be permitted to cheerlead until the next progress card is distributed," the teacher explained, much to the over-exaggerated dismay of the tall brunette before her. Faith's mouth was agape, almost as upset with this new arrangement as Cordelia. Faith was good at English, but, there was no way in HELL she could teach the inept cheerleader the workings of Shakespeare.  
  
"Oh, wonderful," Cordelia stated, throwing her hands up in the air dramatically. Actually, Cordy was sort of happy that this had happened. It would help her get in with Faith without looking too obvious to her friends. She knew she had to help Faith, but the 'you can't tell anyone' clause was seriously screwing her over.  
  
"You two can make arrangements. Faith, you will receive a bonus for your work. Alright, you two can go." The teacher smiled at them, but the two of them looked as if they had stepped on a land mine. Once they got outside the classroom, Faith turned to Cordelia.  
  
"All right. We'll meet at my house every day after school at 3:30?"  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Whatever. Look, it's not like I wanna do this either. I didn't volunteer to have to take on the girl failing a class that we haven't even taken a test in," Faith retorted, her eyes glaring at Cordelia.  
  
"Please, I could totally pass this class without you."  
  
"Oh, that's apparent..what with you failing and all."  
  
"Whatever, I'll see you in a half an hour."  
  
"Whatever," Faith mocked, stalking away angrily.  
------------------------  
The chords of an acoustic guitar floated through the Summers' home. The residence was empty, except for Faith, who sat in her room on the second floor. She sat atop her black comforter, strumming the guitar. Surprisingly, she was skilled at the instrument. Her father had taught her to play before he left, and Faith kept his guitar as a souvenir of sorts. She paused every once in a while, to jot down a chord to lyric onto a notebook.  
Cordelia had gotten into the house halfway through Faith's singing, and she stood at her doorway, bewildered. She had no idea Faith had such an extraordinary hidden talent. Once Faith had finished, Cordelia coughed. The Slayer jumped a bit, startled and slightly embarrassed. Her musical talents were something she wanted to keep hidden. Cordelia smirked a bit, and Faith braced herself for an onslaught of verbal abuse.  
  
"That was pretty good. I didn't know you could ...well, do that." Faith quirked her brows, placing her guitar back in its black case. She shoved the notebook under her bed, glancing back up.  
  
"You've only known me for a week."  
  
"Yeah, but still. Never pegged Faith the Bad Ass for a musical whiz."  
  
"Well, there are a lot of things about me that would surprise you."  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"Yup." Faith stated this simply, sitting cross-legged on her bed. "Alright. Shakespeare is pretty easy once you learn Elizabethan...and you stop seeing things as they are. Elizabethan is pretty simple. And actually, for now, you can use a copy of the play that gives you little definitions of the lesser-known terms." Faith handed Cordelia a paperback version of Macbeth, and the surprised brunette took the book. Cordelia had no idea Faith was so....schooled in the way of the arts. And that she had this teaching ability.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"No problem. Okay, turn to Act 1, Scene 4. Duncan is talking to Banquo. He says...'I have begun to plant thee, and will labour. To make thee full of growing, Noble Banquo. That hast no less deserved, nor must be known no less to have done so, let me enfold thee. And hold thee to my heart.' So, basically, this guy is blabbing on about how he has started to teacher Banquo, and he will work with him to make him smarter, better. And how Banquo deserves it, blah blah, and how Duncan will hold him to his heart. And Banquo basically says, if you help me, I'll in turn, help you. Get it?"  
Cordelia was baffled. How something that was, to her, talking about gardening could be seemingly so profound. But as Faith explained it, the text started to unravel for her. Faith smiled, and they two continued to read each stanza slowly, and Faith would explain everything to her. This went on until 5 o'clock, when Faith finally noticed the time.  
  
"Okay, same time tomorrow? Don't bring your book. I'm gonna show you a movie," Faith said, closing her book up. Cordelia hadn't been listening, because she had been staring at Faith's eyes for the past hour. When Faith got really into something, they kind of lit up. Like some kind of fire was going on inside her. But there also this edge. That if she were provoked in any way, Faith would fall off this teetering edge. And spiral...because she had these hidden depths that even she couldn't fathom. Most of Faith's allure came from someone's attempt to reach those depths, which was pointless. But humans were selfish, and they wanted to try nonetheless. She snapped out of it, shaking her head.  
  
"Um, yeah, sure. Thanks, Faith."  
  
"No problem, Cor."  
  
-----------------  
Flaws. Lights played games of cat and mouse upon the stalls; flames consuming the candle's wick. Moments pass too slowly as he sat alone. A harsh, bitter laugh expelled itself from Saibot's pale thin tiers as that thought formed. Alone. The word had no real meaning in his eyes, or for the world for that matter. It stated that you are without others. Without thoughts. Without feelings. Without. Not true. But for the sake of conforming and to better your understanding, he was "alone." His orbs hid a violet hue inside them with a hint of red. And still morbid thoughts plagued him in a rapid flow with God-awful emotion. A venomous fluid lay dormant in his mouth. Emotions. To feel. A flaw of God. To suffer. A useless weight lay upon the human's shoulder. A smile composed of lavish hate formed upon his lips. They would all feel it. Suffering.  
"Revenge has no place in the world. It only covers the void that is filled to the brim with inner demons."  
  
A man who just had revenge unleashed upon him said this to the one he had done an injustice to.  
  
Gabriel stood motionless in front of a cheap, dinky motel mirror that held a ghostly reflection of his form. Faith drained thoughts held a grasp upon everything inside of him. His stomach twisted in disgust as he turned away from the mirror as it hung lifeless on the wall. He slowly made his way across the room and took a seat in a faded chair that looked as if many different bodily fluids had been released upon the fabric. His eyelids slowly came down and threw him into a world of darkness with images of pain, and loss. He continued to sit there and channel all of his being in order to locate Saibot. He would have find him and make things right. Make him suffer. Now tears burned groves into the corner of his eyes as images of his family came clear. They looked so real. He wanted to reach out and touch them..but he knew what would happen. They would vaporize. They always did.and would continue to do so. The world fell into a blurry view and then cleared itself as he stood up and fixed his pants. He grabbed some things off the stone hard bed, which include a finely shaped stake. He made his way out the door into the parking lot into the night. He placed the motel room key safely in his pocket. 


	7. Chapter 7

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. A steady rhythm of thwacking sounded throughout the library inside the high school. Jenny stood at the receiving end of the punches, her hands out in front of her. Covering her palms were special gloves, padded with strong material that could only stop so much of the Slayer strength from breaking her fingers. Faith furiously hit the gloves, talking between taking sharp breaths.  
  
"And," Thwack. "she made me" Thwack. "tutor her. I mean, Cordelia! Cordelia I'm-Going-To-Be-Voted-Most-Popular-Even-If-It-Means- Being-A-Bitch Chase!" Faith stopped hitting the gloves as she threw her hands up in exasperation. Jenny grimaced, trying to give a sympathetic smile. She took off the gloves, revealing her red hands. Faith's eyes widened, raising a brow. "Sorry. It's just, ugh! I've been here for a week and already I'm screwed. What time is it?"  
"6:45. Faith, she can't be all that bad. You said she was responsive, right? Besides, you're a Slayer." Jenny placed ice packs on her hands, sitting down in the oversized wooden chairs that surrounded the table in the center of the library. Faith sat across from her, taking a swig from her Gatorade.  
"Demons and beasts from hell I can handle. Perky cheerleaders on the other hand..." Faith trailed off, getting a short laugh from her Watcher. Glaring, she sat back in her teenage dismay. She perked up when Xander and Willow walked into the room. Willow looked visibly frightened, and Xander kept trying to calm her down.  
  
"You'll have to excuse the Willster here. Still a bit shaken from the factoids," Xander explained, sitting Willow in a chair. She shook her head, looking at Faith.  
  
"Hi." The word was spoken, and Faith grinned at her. Faith admired her bravery. The first time she heard about vamps, she wasn't so accepting. Faith nodded a hello, spinning around to face the other people.  
  
"Thanks for coming, guys. Not every day you have apocalypses. Well, at least I hope not." Jenny joked a bit to lighten the mood, but all it did was muster a weak half-smile from the redhead. Getting into Watcher- mode, Jenny opened up the laptop carefully with her injured hands. She pushed it over towards Willow. Getting up, she stared pacing around the carpeted floor. Faith watched her with interest, getting dizzy as the woman paced. They couldn't be that far apart in age. Faith was 16. Jenny had to be...24, 25. 26 tops. Faith had immediately found the woman attractive, but, Jenny had taken more of a big sister role with Faith. Only time would tell. Okay, back on track Summers.  
  
"I guess I should fill you in," Jenny said gingerly, trying to choose her words as carefully as possible. "Through a vampire, Faith gathered only a little bit of information on the threat. His name is Saibot. He must have followers because Faith said this guy was very consecrated to him."  
  
"No, I said he was *dedicated* to him." Faith looked at Jenny incredulously, and Jenny just smirked.  
  
"They have the same meaning."  
  
"Oh." Faith shrunk a bit, drinking again from the bottle of liquid.  
  
"Anyway, he also had this.." Jenny opened a notebook that had a drawing of the tattoo on it. "on his palm. It was tattooed, not branded. ..And that's about it."  
  
"Chock full of nothing and a side of mashed potatoes." Faith reiterated, grinning at Jenny with a childlike innocence. Jenny just nodded, looking towards Willow. "So, do you think you can help us?"  
  
"Absolutely. Help is my middle name. Well, it's not. But that information will never be disclosed, not even at death," Xander said, looking around in paranoia. Jenny and Faith both bore the same quirked eyebrow, and they both looked to Willow.  
  
"I meant you." Willow looked up, nodding with fervor. "Cool. I need you to get into the coroner's files. See local deaths. Neck ruptures. See if they're concentrated to one area, you know?" Willow nodded again, not really being able to speak. Her fingers typed quickly at the keyboard, her emerald hues staring intently at the screen.  
  
"If anyone can find info about SourBot, it's Will." He grinned proudly, as if she were his well-oiled machine. Jenny just shook her head, going into the back room for a moment.  
  
"I got it!" Willow exclaimed, causing everyone to jump. Something fell in the back room, and Jenny emerged through the door. Pulling long leaves from her hair, she waved her hand dissuasively.  
"Well, glad I killed the flower plant. It was evil, anyway."  
  
"I-it doesn't say much. Mostly that he is ancient, slaughtered many, in search for the Slayer. He..needs her blood. Then it refers to some old text." Willow tilted the laptop towards Jenny.  
  
"Let me see." Jenny went around behind Willow, glancing at the cross-reference. "Aha! We have that. I have been trying to get more info, but it's been scarce." Jenny called over her shoulder, returning with an old volume. Suddenly she grimaced, sniffing the cover of the book. Glancing at Faith, who was drinking from the sports bottle, she spoke in a scolding tone. "Faith...."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You didn't happen to, oh I don't know, get pizza grease all over this expensive, rare volume, did you?" Faith looked at the book, wincing a bit. Whoops.  
  
"How was I supposed to know? They all look the same, dude! Even the new books have that old, superior thing!" Faith exclaimed, raising her hands innocently. Jenny shook her head, skimming through the volume. She found the page, slamming the book down upon the table. "So much for rare- expensive-book now, huh? You totally just broke the spine." Jenny shook her head, her finger tracing down the text.  
  
"Aha!"  
  
"So you've said," Xander interjected, getting glares from all three women. "I am definitely in the testosterone minority here." Cowering, he tried to look interested in the text.  
  
"Saibot. He has waited for perform a ritual. It seems he needs Slayer blood to start it, which is why he has had to wait so long. He's got followers...blah blah...can't be stopped. Oh..oh wait."  
  
"So he's a superstar with some fanatics. Anything else? You know, hand grenades, spiky skin, supersonic hearing?"  
  
"Not that I can see. But a lot of it is cross-referenced to other texts. This will take a while." Jenny closed the book, getting another whiff of the pizza grease. She shook her head and stretched out her hands, which were still a bit sore from the pounding they received courtesy of Faith.  
  
"N-no it won't." Willow spoke up quietly, turning the laptop towards Jenny and Faith. The two brunettes leaned in, reading the words on the screen. Jenny's face bore an interested expression, while Faith stared at it as if it were a complicated calculus equation.  
  
"That's amazing! It's a prophecy! And this is just...there? Someone just built this page?" Jenny asked Willow, her hazel hues staring in wonderment.  
  
"Yep. You can get lots of things off the 'net. Like...um..."  
  
"Ancient rare prophecies never seen anywhere except in dingy books? And porn." Faith supplied with a grin, getting swatted on the arm by Jenny. Rolling her eyes she turned her attention to her bottle of Gatorade.  
  
"It's called 'Ultima Ratio Regim'. Which I think translates roughly to 'prophecy of the lost'. Um...then it goes...ah here it is. And it will descend upon the heads of humanity. By the hands of a demon. The obliteration will be fashioned forth. And the last days will shine through. He will drown the world with the blood of man. Causing a merge with hell its self. Only one can prevent this apocalypse. An 'ame damnee'. He, single handily, will be able to prevent this plague. With a power superior to evil."  
  
"That's gotta be me, right? I'm the Amy Damn Knee, right?" Faith inquired, her head cocked to the side a bit. "They got the 'he' part wrong. Stereotypical."  
  
"It can't be you. Ame damnee means 'lost soul.' You're not a lost soul. You're put in these prophecies and it either uses your name or 'The Slayer' or 'The One' Or 'The Chosen One'..." Jenny said, her voice distant as she was lost in deep thought. Shaking herself out of it, she turned to the shy girl. "Can you get more information on this ame damnee? I think he'll be our best bet. If he's stopping this huge evil, he has to know about it."  
  
"I never know about it." Faith grumbled, a hint of jealousy in her tone.  
  
"You do now."  
  
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This town is ironic. Most cities, towns...there is a sense of paranoia felt when night falls upon the streets. A nervousness that only the ones with heightened senses can feel. A buzz in the air as people bustle about, trying to get indoors or in the light. But not in Sunnydale.  
In Sunnydale, the people are blissfully unaware of the creatures that lurk around them. Most cities don't even have the incredible night creatures that Sunnydale has. All they have are criminals and lunatics. Each seemingly harmless compared to the undead residents of this town. But the people continue to be unafraid. Unafraid of the danger that will inevitably strike them, or someone they know. Evil seeps from every pore, around every corner, with every passing minute. It grows, swells, cultivates, and dies down with the sun makes its appearance on the other side of the sky. When the people come out of their houses, still oblivious to the danger that was outside their front door.  
  
The blonde woman walked the streets, her eyes glued ahead. She was acutely aware of her surroundings, her nose picking up the different scents that lingered on the streets. Popcorn, blood, excitement. Teenagers walked together, chatting loudly about meaningless things that only are important to mortals. They were no longer important to her. They used to be. There was a time when she, too, was occupied with such trivial things as dating, clothes, and social status. But now she was no longer a part of these things. She was separated from society. She was an outcast in a world she'd like to belong to again.  
  
Call it instinct, but the blonde was led to the graveyard. Ah yes, the ultimate breeding ground for the undead activity. You'd think with 12 graveyards and counting, they would step up the night police in the town. But they buried the dead, and with them, their worries about their safety in the dark. In the distance, she heard grunting and the sound of fists colliding with faces. Racing off into the darkness, she followed the sound. The sight she came upon was rather remarkable, and slightly amusing.  
  
A feisty and obviously powerful brunette mercilessly pounding upon a few vampires. They all tried feeble attacks, but she was quickly rid of them. In the background, two frightened teenagers stood stiffly, and an older, beautiful woman stood next to them. The woman seemed proud of the girl when she made a bow after dusting the vampires. It was the Slayer. But, oddly enough, it was not the Slayer who caught the woman's eye. It was the goofy boy making sarcastic comments about the Slayer's performance. She felt a tinge of something she had not felt in many years. Attraction. Attraction was too dangerous, and she needed to get her ass in gear, but she was captivated by the sight of all of them. A ragtag team they were, if a team at all. Lurking in the shadows, she caught the eye of the Slayer, and quickly disappeared into the night.  
  
"Hey, you guys go ahead home. I'm gonna make a sweep before heading in, okay?" Saying her good-byes, Faith followed the scent that she had felt while she was Slaying. Vampire. She had smelled the vampire even after dusting the other three. After 10 minutes of searching, she felt herself being followed. Going into an alleyway she knew was a dead-end, she got to the brick wall and turned. A petite blonde girl stepped into the one light that streamed into the alley. Faith smirked, taking this girl in as an easy kill.  
  
"So you're the Slayer, huh? Performance wise, you don't put up much of a fight. Figured you'd be better. Skills and all that."  
  
"Well, gee, thanks. You know, next time I want the opinion of a stalker vampire I'll...on second thought, I'll *never* want the opinion of a vampire." Faith sneered, her hands hips self-righteously on her hips.  
  
"Feisty. They told me you were a spitfire."  
  
"Really? Do *they* want a prize?"  
  
"If you think your biting wit will win you this fight, you're wrong. You cannot stop his rising. Not you, but someone else can. Ame damnee will cease the rising of evil. Find him."  
  
"I don't suppose there's a 1-800 number I can call..or maybe you know...Club Ame Damnee, right?" The woman chuckled, turning around. Calling over her shoulder, she replied cryptically.  
  
"Instinct will lead you there."  
  
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"So she's all 'instinct will lead you there' and stalks off into the night. Like Batwoman or something."  
  
"Well she didn't try to maim you or eat you, so I'd say she wasn't all that bad. The vampire thing kinda throws me off, though."  
  
"Maybe it was a good vampire. You know, defanged." Willow supplied, poised on the end of the table in the library. Xander sat in the chair, and Faith was laying down on the table, her head hanging over the edge. Jenny stood, Giles just a few steps behind her. He wiped off his glasses onto his handkerchief, placing them back onto the bridge of his nose. He seemed to be deep in thought, wondering who this benefactor might be. The bell rang shrilly above them, signaling Faith to flip off the table gracefully.  
  
"Where are you going?" Jenny asked, stepping into Faith's path.  
  
"...Home?"  
  
"No, I need you here to research."  
  
"C'mon. I need to go home. My mom's majorly worried that I'm falling back in 'bad habits.'" Faith used air quotes, rolling her eyes. Jenny nodded, allowing Faith to pass through. Faith left the building in a hurry, going home as fast as she could.  
  
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Evil always triumphs. Malevolence and wickedness reign over the terrain of the world, draping itself on to the ignorant masses.  
One thing that always got him was that mortals always have this profane urge to associate evil with obscurity and abhorrence. They struggle and bind it down to something that processes as horrific, in order to grasp the concept of righteous and immoral altogether. They have no idea what evil truly is. How evil can be blatantly glorious and implore one to feel such supremacy, even over certain emotions such as happiness and contentment. However, when it does happen, when his time finally comes. There is going to be fireworks all right. Of course, they'll all be either brain-dead or busy being tortured to even realize it, but it's still a sight to behold.  
  
A sinister grin touched his tiers upwards as he made his way to the bulky desk in the focal point of the room, which had a rather prolific amount of arcane text spread out upon it. It contained a certain prophecy that might be his down fall. One word had printed itself onto his memory over the time since he had read the text. Ame damnee. The first time he had read it aloud one image lay present in his mind. A certain demon hunter who would never stop until he himself was dead or Saibot was. He was rooting for the former.  
  
He made his way out of the room as his chilled hands came to rest deep inside his pockets. He let a hand slip out of his pocket and ran it over the slick metal railing as his dark orbs peered around the scope of bodies down in the pit below. Humans. They were so ignorant; it was almost too easy to take over their minuscule psyches.  
  
He let his gaze linger on them for a moment longer before it shifted to a peroxide blonde at the end of the hall. His usual grin played across his tiers as he made his way over.  
  
"So fangs, what are you doing? Not just aimlessly wondering around, I hope."  
  
Spike looked startled as he snapped his head to look at Saibot's form. The vampire spoke in a hurried manner, boarding on babbling.  
  
"What? Oh no, I am just waiting on my poof of a sire. He should be out in a minute."  
  
He just nodded a bit at Spikes answer as he turned towards the doorway. As if on cue, the form of Angelus made it's way out of the room with a tattered look set upon his features. Saibot spoke in an amused tone.  
  
"Ah, Angelus my dear, are you ready to do that little task I set up for you?"  
  
Angelus growled out a response in an annoyed manner. "We're going, were going. Come on, William." Angelus turned away from the demon as he spoke, slowly making his way down the hall, Spike yelling from his tail.  
  
"Bloody hell already. I told you the name is Spike, would you just get use to it."  
  
A faint laugh expelled from his dry tiers as he began back to his office, muttering under his breath. "See you soon Gabriel." 


End file.
